Sundance 2012 Buyers Guide: A Primer

Every year the Sundance acquisition landscape changes as buyers come and go. After a period of upheaval, the studio subsidiaries are steady on, although the lack of commercial or awards breakouts from last year's batch of buys should keep 2012 Sundance bidding low. But it only takes one hot title to reignite the marketplace.

While there's movement in indie distribution, we're profiling regular buyers with track records. Some will partner with such other entities as Participant Media, OWN, PBS or HBO, who are not theatrical distributors. And some newer entities are not listed.

Relativity, never a major Sundance player, is struggling to keep its financial footing and losing key executives, and Graham King plans to restructure FilmDistrict, his experiment in releasing his sprawling slate, after letting go of Bob Berney. The impact of Lionsgate and Summit's pending merger on their buying appetite is unclear. And P & A financeer Mickey Liddell, who has been partnering with the likes of Lionsgate partner Roadside Attractions, is starting his own releasing company LD Distribution with marketing veteran, ex-Paramount Classics exec David Dinerstein as president. The company plans to release four to six films in its first year, a mix of acquisitions and films from five-year-old Liddell Entertainment's expanding production slate of modestly budgeted films capped at $25 million. And eyes are also on Cohen Media Group ("The Lady") and Wrekin Hill (Zhang Yimou's "The Flowers of War").

Anyone at the fest who does not land theatrical distribution has at least one back-up: they can self-distribute via Sundance's Artists Services.